The black and white photo at the entrance of the the Himeyuri Peace Museum in Naha, Okinawa, shows the graduating class of 1944. The 50 or so young women, aged 15-19, are grouped around their principal, smiling brightly into the camera and their own futures. They are the most promising female students in the Okinawa …
Seeing cherry blossoms – or sakura as they’re called in Japanese – is one of the main reasons tourists visit Japan in late March. And, of course, it’s not just tourists who anxiously await the iconic clouds of white and pink to drift into view. All over Japan, cherry blossom watches and forecasts, some of …
Lorne left a couple of hours ago for an all day snorkelling expedition off the Kerama Islands, and I’m getting ready to walk over to a coral dyeing experience about 50 minutes from our hotel. My Japanese phone number pings. TSUNAMI, it says with a red exclamation point. The rest of the message is in …
For two Canadian prairie people, more used to the “dry cold” of April in their home province, Okinawa’s moist heat comes as a bit of a surprise Not that we dislike hauling out our summer wear to tour Naha, Okinawa Island’s business capital. But after walking around for a while, we’re ready for a cool …
On the pathway leading up to Okinawa’s Shuri Castle stand the remains of a giant akagi tree, estimated to be more than 200 years old. It was heavily damaged during the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, and further battered by a typhoon. Although the original tree is no longer alive, a tenacious akou tree has grown …
The taxi driver in Hiroshima asks us where we plan to go next in Japan. When we mention Okinawa, he’s surprised. “Kyoto? Osaka? Very beautiful. “ Yes, I think, and also crowded with tourists. Besides, we’d been both places on other trips. Now it was time to explore a less well known destination, at least to …
I met my friend Kazue in 2017 when she visited the University of Alberta as part of a delegation from Wakayama University. We initially bonded over a mutual passion for engaging teaching, and she invited me twice to Wakayama to work with their professors on enhancing their teaching methods. Since then, we’ve discovered we share …
As we join the line to walk through the dimly lit exhibition space in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, a sign warns parents of the disturbing content, and cautions them to prepare children for what they’re about to see and monitor their responses. It’s good advice for all of us. I take only one picture, …
Before I came to Tokyo, I hadn’t realized it’s now the largest metropolis in the world, with a population of 37 million people. That meant when we traveled around the city, we experienced crowds. But I never felt unsafe or claustrophobic or disrespected. I never got pushed or shoved or had someone openly lose patience …
Today, a traveler arriving at Tokyo’s Shibuya Station is greeted by the sight of towering ad screens and the noteworthy Shibuya scramble, where thousands of pedestrians cross the intersection from all directions at the same time. Now that I know the story of Professor Eizaburo Ueno and his Akita dog Hachiko, I wonder what the …
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